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My Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe Makes All Your Mexican Dishes Better
Of all the seasoning blends I’ve made, I use this homemade taco seasoning the most (specifically for taco meat and taco salad). I always, always have it in my spice drawer. I started making it years ago because store-bought versions were either expensive or filled with chemicals and sugar. So, to learn how to make taco seasoning myself, I looked at the packaging of several store-bought brands to identify common themes. This taco seasoning recipe is what I came up with, and here’s why it’s amazing:
- Tastes like the real deal – Warm, savory, smoky, a little spicy, a little garlicky… I’ve got all the flavors you expect here. All with simple ingredients.
- No artificial ingredients or sugar – Have you checked the label on those store-bought packets? They’re filled with starches, fillers, preservatives, and sugar. Why?! My homemade taco seasoning recipe doesn’t have any of these, and I think that makes it taste better. It’s naturally gluten-free, too. (This organic one is my favorite when I run out of homemade, and even that brand has sugar.)
- Affordable – Even though these days it’s easier to find clean-ingredient brands, it’s still much cheaper to make your own DIY taco seasoning.
- Ready in minutes and stores well – Make a big batch and you’ll be set for months. It works for all kinds of Mexican recipes!
I loved this mix so much that I even included it in my first cookbook, and have used it in dozens of healthy recipes since then. Grab some (common) spices, because you need to DIY this taco seasoning mix with me!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the ingredients for my best taco seasoning, what each one does in my recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Chili Powder – The main ingredient! Note I use American chili powder here, which is actually more than just chilies. The clean brand I use includes chili powder (actual chilies), cumin, oregano, coriander, garlic, rice concentrate, allspice, and cloves. I add more of many of these to the mix, as it’s not a taco seasoning by itself.
- Ground Cumin – There’s nothing quite like it. It balances the sweetness and heat of the other spices.
- Smoked Paprika – I have not seen smoked paprika in a store-bought packet, but always use it in mine because I believe it tastes better. Feel free to use regular sweet paprika if you want to.
- Oregano – I use this regular dried oregano which is earthy, but you can use Mexican oregano too, which is bolder and tastes a little like licorice if you like that. Ground coriander or dried cilantro would also make good substitutes.
- Aromatic Powders – Garlic powder and onion powder.
- Cayenne Pepper – For a kick, but I’d say this homemade taco seasoning is pretty mild overall. If you like a spicier blend, I recommend doubling the cayenne and adding 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper – Because most store-bought mixes have salt and I wanted it to replace those easily in any dish, I included salt in my taco seasoning mix recipe. If you are trying to reduce your sodium intake, you can omit the salt or reduce the amount.
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How To Make Taco Seasoning
There’s not much to it! Stir all the taco seasoning ingredients together in a small bowl, then store in an airtight container or small glass jar.
TIP: When I want to save on dishes, I shake the spices right in the jar with the lid on.
How Much Taco Seasoning To Use
I highly recommend measuring your spice mix based on the weight of the meat you’re putting it on. A typical packet of taco seasoning contains 3 tablespoons, but I find that’s because they have unnecessary fillers.
For my homemade taco seasoning, my rule of thumb is 2 tablespoons per pound of ground beef, ground pork, chicken, or shrimp.
Sometimes I use a bit less (1 1/2 tablespoons per pound) for chicken or seafood, but beef and pork almost always do best with the full 2 tablespoons.
Ways To Use It
Here are some of the many recipes I use this spice blend for:
- Ground Beef – Hello, taco night! I have more detailed instructions in my taco meat recipe, but basically you’d brown the beef first, then add the seasoning along with 1/4 cup of water. Simmer until the liquid absorbs into the meat.
- Chicken – Sprinkle it on before baking chicken breasts or mix with shredded chicken. (I don’t always add it to my Crock Pot chicken tacos, but it definitely adds a lot of flavor when I do!) I also season my Instant Pot chicken before cooking and shredding when I need it for a Mexican meal.
- Taco Salad – My most popular and personal favorite! Tens of thousands of readers have made it and it gets rave reviews. You can also try it on my other Mexican salad.
- Soups – My favorite is 5-ingredient taco soup, but homemade taco seasoning would also work well in Mexican chicken soup.
- Veggies – Sprinkle it over roasted vegetables before roasting. I personally love it on air fryer cauliflower.
- Other Mexican-Inspired Dishes – I also use taco-seasoned beef for my taco dip, taco skillet, turkey stuffed peppers, and taco casserole. If you’re out of fajita seasoning, you can even swap in this taco seasoning recipe for chicken fajitas, steak fajitas, or shrimp fajitas.
Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe (5 Min)
By
Learn how to make homemade taco seasoning in 5 minutes! My taco seasoning recipe uses simple spices and tastes better than store-bought.
Instructions
[ See step photos ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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Combine all the spices in a small bowl. Stir together, until uniform.
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Store in an airtight container or small glass jar.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1/2 tablespoon
- How to use it: I recommend 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning per pound of meat. See ways to use it above for more details and recipe ideas.
- Recipe yield and serving size: This recipe makes about 6 tablespoons, or enough for 3 pounds of meat. That’s usually 3 meals at my house, at 1 pound of meat each. If you have a larger family, or if you want to make this seasoning blend even less often, feel free to double, triple, or even quadruple it. The serving size (1/2 tablespoon) is enough seasoning for 1/4 pound, which is usually how much meat you’d have for one serving.
- Storage: Store this mix in a cool, dry place in an airtight container, such as spice jars with lids or a small multi purpose jar. It will last 1-2 years, but is best used within a year for the best flavor. You can also freeze it if you like.
📖 Want more recipes like this? Find this one and many more in my Easy Keto Cookbook here.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Taco Seasoning Recipe
145 Comments
Cindy Wuer
0This is a fantastic recipe however, it was a little salty for me (and I do like my salt). I use Kosher salt so that was not the problem. Next time I will cut it back to 1/2 or 3/4 TB. If you use the full 2Tb seasoning per pound it will be pretty strong, so it you want a milder flavor don’t use the full 2T all at once. I will definitely be making this again. Better than what you can buy and KETO! BTW, if you want it to thicken like the store-bought packets add a pinch of xanthan gum.
Carri
0I made up my own taco seasoning / taco meat recipe years ago. I don’t care for the taste of chili powder, so I omit that. I use most of your other seasonings but I also fry up some onion and garlic. Add white pepper, 2 to 3 heaping tbsp tomato paste and 1 to 1 1/2 cups water. Mix it all in with the cooked hamburger and let it simmer down about 15 minutes so the sauce cooks down but not dry. I like it somewhat saucy but not too much. Love beating the system and not having to buy seasoning packets that usually contain MSG and other junk.
Pauline Ondrajka
0Best taco Seasoning ever, I add it to chili and soups as well! My daughter is now hooked on it too! I usually do 36 servings at a time. I have given this to my friends as gifts as well. I’ve been using this for a couple of years and thought I would come leave a review, as I am printing this to put in my book in the kitchen for most used and most delicious recipes! Thanks for sharing!!
Diane
0Wonderful flavor! Plus, I didn’t need to buy any special ingredients since I happened to have everything including the smoked paprika on hand (just bought that a few weeks ago when it was used in a Publix demo). I may never buy taco seasoning again. Thank you for doing all the experimentation for us, Maya!
Karla
0Omg!! I just made the taco seasoning, and then made tacos with it. I used the Mission low carb soft tortillas. This was amazing! I heartily recommend it!
Patti
0This is DELICIOUS!!!!! I went extra heavy on the Cayenne Pepper since we love spicy. It was very flavorful in our low carb Taco Skillet. Thank you!!!
Kim Hunt
0If you are using sea salt or iodized salt instead of kosher, it will taste saltier.
Mary C Ekroos
0thank you for this recipe! I plan to make it for many applications! Chili, Taco Meat! But I also make an Egg Fast Dish with hardboiled eggs with spices and Parmesan cheese, so I plan to make this & sprinkle on the egg halves before I put the Parmesan on them and crisp them up in a skillet! so glad to see this recipe! Thank you!
Charlie Gilliam
0I really like using Mexican oregano. It has a distinct flavor difference compared to Italian oregano.
Mike
0I’d just like to make sure that the recipe is correct where it asks for 1 TBSP of sea salt and it’s not 1 TSP. Also, if I’m understanding this correctly, I can use kosher salt instead of sea salt and be fine, just don’t use fine salt?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Mike, The amount listed is correct. Kosher salt will work fine. Alternatively, you can omit the salt completely and season the final dish to taste.
Tom
0This was great. Can I leave onion powder out. Having a party and some people are allergic
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Tom! Yes, feel free to leave it out.
Susan
0I absolutely LOVE your taco seasoning recipe!
Sue M
0I made this recipe and it is very tasty. I prefer low sodium, so I reduced the salt to 1/2 teaspoon. Perfection. It also saves me money by not having to buy low sodium taco seasoning. Thank you for the recipe.
Jessie Davis
0Thanks for this. I’m prediabetic by redospostional genetic gene. I saythisbcozI run and eat healthy anyways…but. Now… I count every carb and this so much better than a packet
Caroline Shaw
0I haven’t had taco seasoning before so looking forwards to giving it a try. Plan on making a Taco Pie using this spice mix. Silly question… what do you serve with it to make it a filling family meal for working men with big appetites? We are still feeling our feet with a Keto lifestyle. Thank you for any help and advice given x
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Caroline, Taco pie is a great idea! One of my other go-to’s is taco salad. You can also make tacos with jicama tortillas or coconut tortillas.
Diana
0I made a recipe for a taco bake tonight and needed a fast and easy recipe for taco seasoning. Found this one in my online recipe book. It is a winner! This is THE best taco seasoning I’ve ever made/used.
Thank you for sharing this!
Kim Parker
0Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!! This recipe is perfect, wonderful taste, husband approved and no junk ingredients. When I looked at store bought taco seasonings, I couldn’t believe how much “other” stuff was in it. Thank you so much for taking time to post this.
Chrystal Myers Patterson
0Did I miss the ratios? I don’t see how much to add of each ingredient.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Chrystal, Ingredient amounts don’t show up properly in Safari reading mode. If you turn that off you should see them.
Barsillae
0The BEST taco seasoning recipe I’ve found ANYWHERE. Keto or otherwise. 10/10 would recommened, tastes better than some of the package mixes.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much!! That really means a lot!
Eryn
0I don’t use sea salt – but I use kosher salt. Do you know if it would still be a tablespoon of salt with kosher? Or should I come off of that a bit? I know it’s different to cook with and different amounts.
Heather Kuhn
0That probably depends on what brand of kosher salt that you’re using. There are two major brands, Morton and Diamond Crystal, and their crystals are sufficiently different enough to have a major impact on food.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Eryn, The same amount should be fine since they are similar size granules.